so how do we get out?

this brings me to my final point. we’ve explored the idea of digital agility and how gen z, while digitally agile, lacks the knowledge and experience to truly be considered digital natives. we’ve delved into the social panopticon, a prison of surveillance where we are both guard and inmate, controlled by the perceived gaze of others. we’ve examined how social media perpetuates isolation, comparison, and low self-esteem, particularly within the fashion industry. now, we come to the last question: how do we get out?

if you want to escape prison, you must first realize you’re in a cell. you have to feel where the walls begin and end, sense the cold floor beneath your feet, and walk through the door. the key to escaping the social panopticon lies in understanding its mechanisms. the illusion of surveillance, that people are constantly watching, judging, and caring about our every move, is the foundation of its power. in truth, most people are too consumed with their own lives to pay us much attention. breaking free requires dismantling this illusion and acknowledging that the vast majority of what we do online is not as significant to others as we think. we strengthen the panopticon’s grip with each post, each like, each share. but if we can understand how these systems work, we can begin to loosen the chains.

“if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” -sun tzu

to escape the panopticon, we must first know it. we need to educate ourselves on how these platforms function: how they target us, why they target us, and how they profit from our engagement. social media thrives on the illusion of authenticity, a word slapped around so much it has now become diluted, risking becoming yet another empty buzzword. achieving media literacy, then, is essential. not only does it support analyzing content critically, but it also entails understanding the broader systems shaping our digital interactions and making informed decisions about how we participate.

media literacy is one of the most actionable tools we have to combat the negative effects of the social panopticon. it empowers individuals to access, analyze, and evaluate the media they consume, fostering critical thinking and resilience. studies show alarming correlations between excessive social media use and mental health crises, including rising rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide among young people. media literacy equips us to navigate these challenges by teaching us how to engage with digital platforms responsibly and effectively.
for instance, understanding the concept of virality helps us recognize how content is engineered to capture attention and drive engagement. exploring the facade of authenticity allows us to question the curated personas we see online. media literacy fosters resilience, coping ability, and life satisfaction, attributes collectively known as flourishing. research from boston college has shown that flourishing is positively correlated with higher levels of media literacy, suggesting that critical engagement with media can directly enhance our well-being.

writing these essays has forced me to confront the contradictions in my own relationship with social media. i set out to critique the panopticon and advocate for a way out, but in doing so, i wrote these pieces for the eyes of others. so, am i actually free? i’d argue yes, and here’s why.

for me, the audience comes last. my relationship is with this piece, this word, in this moment. freedom lies in the distance between the hunter and its prey. the nuance of the social panopticon is that we can choose how, when, and whether we participate in the hunt. within the panopticon, i was both hunter and prey, trapped in the endless cycle of watching and being watched. the social panopticon thrives on our complicity. it feeds on our fear of missing out, our desire for validation, and our belief that we are always being watched. breaking free from the panopticon doesn’t mean abandoning social media altogether, but it does mean redefining our relationship with it. it means choosing to engage on our own terms, with intention and awareness. it means resisting the urge to curate ourselves for others. the panopticon’s power lies in its ability to make us believe we have no choice but to participate in the hunt. but the truth is, we do.

now, i find myself outside of that chase. i no longer accept its terms, its confinement, or its freedom. my liberation lies beyond the duality of the hunter and hunted, guard and inmate, watcher and watched.